The most powerful thing we own is our vote.

Education has fundamentally changed my life. It's perhaps the mission of my life. I'm wed to it in a very powerful and personal way. And I chose the pathway that I believe could make me the most significant on changing the outcomes that we see now in North Carolina.

We can go back to economic plans that are only designed to benefit the wealthiest among us, like Mitt Romney. Or we can keep moving forward with President Obama's vision for a growing economy that works for middle-class families in North Carolina and all across the country. For me, for North Carolina and for America, it's an easy choice.

Decisions just look different with women at the table. We still have a long way to go. The most powerful thing we own is our vote.

I've always been me. I've always been very direct and have told the truth and have been very willing to stand up and speak out.

I've always been very direct and have told the truth and have been very willing to stand up and speak out.

Unlike Mitt Romney, President Obama is standing up for Planned Parenthood.

At the end of the day, things don't get better unless you continue to invest in your workforce. And I've not heard any Republican talk about education and the investment in the future workforce.

Folks are really tired of this rabid division between Republicans and Democrats. Folks want people to come together and solve the problems and the challenges of America.

From education to broadband, from building roads and bridges to supporting the military, Barack Obama is delivering for North Carolina. And he is delivering for America. A growing middle class is the foundation for a strong America.

I have spent my tenure in office - and, in fact, my adult lifetime - fighting for things that I care deeply about. And as anyone who knows me will tell you, I do not back down from tough fights.

I think we ought to suspend, perhaps, elections for Congress for two years and just tell them we won't hold it against them, whatever decisions they make, to just let them help this country recover. I really hope that someone can agree with me on that.

President Obama is also standing up for women in North Carolina and across our country. He has helped women fight for equal pay for equal work; he has fought to guarantee that women have access to quality, affordable health care, including making sure that insurance plans cover birth control with no out-of-pocket cost.

Women have to be very vigilant, and demand the very best in public schools, health care and pay, those things that men and women of this state value are at risk.